


Open Your Eyes

by supersapphics



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-18
Updated: 2019-07-18
Packaged: 2020-07-08 02:16:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19861867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/supersapphics/pseuds/supersapphics
Summary: Maia is having trouble finding a good relationship, and Isabelle is more than happy to help her.It just so happens that Maia already knows what she wants.





	Open Your Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic for the shwlw fic bingo! I'm on Team Blue and this fulfills the prompt for "slow burn".
> 
> Thanks to Rike for organizing this event and to Anique for coming up with this idea!

“I broke up with Simon,” Maia announces, setting her purse down on the counter before approaching the couch where Isabelle is sitting.

“Oh no,” Isabelle says, looking up from her book with a frown. “What happened?”

“He’s an idiot,” Maia says with a shrug. “And I realized it was going nowhere, so why waste my time?”

“That’s a little harsh, isn’t it?” Isabelle asks. “Didn’t you two just start dating three weeks ago? It doesn’t seem like you gave him much of a chance.”

She doesn’t worry about coming across as too blunt. She and Maia have been best friends since high school and roommates all throughout university. Maia will know what she means.

“Three weeks was enough,” Maia says firmly. “I’m just, I’m done. I don’t know.” She collapses on the couch next to Isabelle. “Is it just me or have all my relationships lately been bogus?”

“It’s not just you.” Isabelle shuts her book and places it aside. “Maybe you’re just looking for the wrong thing?”

“Maybe.” Maia turns around and places her feet in Isabelle’s lap. “But that means I have to know what I’m really looking for. Otherwise I won’t be able to stop looking for the wrong thing.”

“Well…” Isabelle reaches out and rubs one of Maia’s feet. “You must have some idea of what you’re looking for.”

“Maybe.” Maia chews her lower lip and gives Isabelle a look she can’t interpret. “But I’m not sure. Maybe you could help me –”

“Oh yeah, I’d love to. Hang on.” Isabelle taps Maia’s foot and Maia pulls back to give Isabelle room to stand up. Isabelle grabs her phone from the counter and opens up the notes app as she returns to the couch.

“Ok. Tell me some things that you liked or admired in your previous partners.”

“Simon was sincere. Until he wasn’t.”

“Sincere,” Isabelle repeats, typing.

“Bat was really loyal. To a fault. Which is why he broke up with me to go back home and help out his family.”

“Keep going,” Isabelle encourages when Maia is silent for a few moments.

“I’m just thinking. Ummm…Jace was really sweet. When he wanted to be. He could also be an ass.”

“I said things you _liked_ ,” Isabelle says, lightly knocking her foot against Maia’s knee in a fake reprimand.

“Well, I’m out. That’s everything I can think of.”

“Ok, so we have sweet, sincere, and loyal. That’s not bad. You probably also want someone trustworthy and dependable.”

“Sure.” Maia shakes her head. “But those are such generic descriptions. I’m not going to find anyone with such vague parameters. What am I supposed to put on my dating profile? That I’m looking for a golden retriever?”

“Hey, I’m trying to help you out here!” Isabelle complains, laughing a little. “Ok, so give me something more specific then, missy.”

Maia sticks out her tongue at Isabelle before responding. “I want to date my best friend.”

“That’s a good one,” Isabelle agrees, adding it to the list. “It’s always good when your partner is also your friend.”

“That’s not what I –” Maia bites her lip, cutting herself off mid sentence. Isabelle gives her a curious look, waiting for her to continue, but Maia simply shakes her head. “Ok, yeah. Write that one down.”

“Already did. Anything else you can think of?”

“There needs to be passion. But…not just that. There needs to be mutual trust and respect, and I think that when we have that, passion will also come from that.”

“Good, good…” Isabelle adds it all to the list on her phone. “Ok, what do you not want?”

“I don’t want someone who doesn’t get me.” Maia is giving her a strange look again. It’s intense, almost as if she’s trying to communicate something telepathically. Isabelle just wishes she knew what it was.

“Well…I think I have enough now.” Isabelle reads through the list.

“You are aware that I’ve put this kind of stuff on my dating profile before, and it’s never worked?” Maia asks. “I mean, I met my three last boyfriends through dating websites.”

“That’s why I’m not going to use a dating website,” Isabelle says, winking.

Now Maia looks alarmed. “You’re not? What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to ask around. I have lots of friends from school and through my brothers. We’ll find you someone.”

“It doesn’t have to be a guy,” Maia says. “I know all of my most recent relationships have been with men, but…this time it doesn’t have to be.”

“Ok.” Isabelle flashes her friend a smile. “Don’t worry, babe. I’m going to find you the partner of your dreams.”

“And what about you?” Maia wonders. “Do you need any help being set up?”

“Me? Nah, I’m good. I’m content being single for now.”

“You’ve been saying that for the past year. It’s ok not to want a relationship if that’s really not what you’re interested in, but I don’t get the feeling that’s the case here.”

“I do want a relationship,” Isabelle admits. “But I don’t want to force it. It’ll happen when it happens.”

Maia seems to think over that for a few seconds. Finally she smiles. “Ok. Let’s see what you’ve got, Lightwood.”

Isabelle is attempting – and really, she’s giving it her best! – to fix dinner when Maia lets herself into the apartment.

“What…is that smell,” Maia gasps when she enters the kitchen.

“Meatloaf,” Isabelle answers proudly. “And salmon.”

“Meatloaf…and salmon,” Maia repeats, her voice coming out high pitched because she’s pinching her nose. “You were going to eat those together?”

“Yeah, I thought I’d try something new. Why? Does it not look ok?”

“It looks…” Maia lets go of her nose and leans over to peer into the pans on the stovetop. “Well, it doesn’t look edible, to be honest. And it smells…off.”

“Dammit,” Isabelle says with a disappointed sigh. She turns off the stove and attempts to bat away some of the steam rising from the pans with her hands. “Well, looks like it’s Chinese takeout. Again.”

“Let’s try Vietnamese,” Maia suggests. “We haven’t had that in awhile.”

“Yeah, we – wait. What are you doing here? I didn’t expect you for another few hours at the earliest.”

“The date ended early,” Maia explains, which isn’t really much of an explanation.

“Because?” Isabelle coaxes.

“Gretel was great. Beautiful, funny, she loves Star Trek. But. I don’t know. I just didn’t feel much of a spark.”

“How long did you stay and wait for the spark to appear?”

“How long should I have waited? Shouldn’t the spark appear, you know, pretty early on?”

“Maybe.” Isabelle scrapes the burnt salmon out of the pan and into the trashcan standing next to her. “But maybe when you go on the next date, you should give them more of a chance.”

“All right. But only because you insist. And please promise me the next time I come home from a date, you won’t be burning any more food. This smell is just…godawful.”

“Deal.”

“Now you’re home later than I expected,” Isabelle remarks, looking up from her textbooks with a highlighter slipping out of her mouth.

“It’s only 11:30,” Maia responds, slipping off her leather jacket. She’s wearing a tight red dress that clings to her in all the right ways.

“That’s four hours later than when you came back from your date with Gretel.”

“Well…Aline was different.”

“Ah,” Isabelle says knowingly. “So when are you seeing her again?”

“I’m not.”

“Now hold on.” Isabelle tosses her highlighter down. “If it went great, then how could something have gone wrong?”

“Nothing went wrong, per se. Aline and I really liked each other. It’s just, most of our chemistry was sexual and it didn’t really go beyond that.”

“Oh.” Isabelle looks back down at her books. She doesn’t know why she’s suddenly bothered by the idea of Maia having had sex on a blind date. She had never been bothered when Maia had been in relationships before – although, now that she thinks of it, all of Maia’s previous relationships had been with men, at least the serious ones. But now Maia has been on a few dates with a few different women, and that’s – different. Isabelle can’t really explain to herself why, though, and it’s bothering her more than she’d like to admit.

“So I guess you can set me up with someone else, because Aline and I are just going to stay friends.”

“Ok.” Isabelle looks up with a forced smile. “I’ll find someone great for you, don’t worry.”

Maia gives her another one of those looks Isabelle can’t interpret, but she doesn’t think much of it, because she’s still trying to decipher why her stomach feels so uneasy all of a sudden.

Isabelle stirs when she hears the door to the apartment open. She realizes she must have fallen asleep while waiting for Maia to come home from her date, and looks up quickly when she hears footsteps in the foyer.

“Hey,” Maia says softly, when she steps into the room and sees Isabelle sitting up on the sofa. “You’re awake.”

“Just woke up.” Isabelle runs a hand through her tangled hair and stifles a yawn. “How was the date?”

“It was pretty good.” Maia sinks down onto the sofa next to her. “We had a lot in common and I liked her a lot.”

Isabelle waits, but when Maia remains silent, she nudges her arm. “But,” she prompts.

“But. I don’t know. There was just something holding me back.”

“Like what?” Isabelle’s voice feels unnaturally hushed.

“Izzy. What would you say if I told you that I think I’ve already found the person I want to be with?”

“What? Seriously? Who is it?”

Maia just stares at her silently.

“If you’re trying to communicate with me telepathically, I’m not receiving any messages,” Isabelle jokes, even though her voice comes out a bit more breathlessly than intended.

“I might have to make myself more clear then. Isabelle…the person I want to be with is you.”

And suddenly, it makes sense. She’s always liked Maia, and not just as a friend. But when Maia had been dating men, Isabelle had always told herself that nothing could happen between the two of them. It didn’t make any sense, really, because she’s known that Maia likes girls since freshman year of university. But she supposes that she’d been in denial, until Maia had started asking to be set up with girls. Then, just like that – Isabelle mentally snaps her fingers – the denial had washed away and she’d realized what she’d been repressing for all these years.

There’s just one thing she’s still confused about.

“But…you asked me to set you up. Why didn’t you just ask me out?”

“I didn’t ask. You offered and I went along with it. Because you weren’t recognizing my hints.” Maia seems amused by her reaction.

“Hints?” Isabelle echoes.

“Hints,” Maia confirms. “I was dropping them left and right.”

When Isabelle just gapes at her, Maia chuckles and says, “Ok, they were kind of vague. I guess I could’ve been more clear, but I was nervous you didn’t feel the same way.”

“I definitely do,” Isabelle assures her, not feeling the slightest bit shy now.

“Yeah?” A smile spreads slowly across Maia’s face. “Then, Isabelle Lightwood, would you like to go on a date with me tomorrow night?”

“Do we have to wait until tomorrow?” Isabelle asks. She’s feeling very impatient all of a sudden. After all, she had denied herself for years.

“It’s 10:30,” Maia points out. “Where would we go? I’m not hungry or anything.”

“Let’s just go for a walk. Please?” Isabelle gives an exaggerated pout that makes Maia burst out laughing.

“All right, princess. Let’s go for a walk.” Maia stands up and offers her hand, which Isabelle gladly accepts.


End file.
